The Bible Inspired by God? NO WAY!

[2-0-NINE]

Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?
by Jason Carlson and Ron Carlson

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a university student asked me, “Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?” Now this is a very interesting question; and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves. What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?

In answering this student’s question, I encouraged him to consider the following facts about the Bible:

First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to name a few.

Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500 years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe. Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God’s people.

Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What’s more, this collection of books shares a common storyline- the creation, fall, and redemption of God’s people; a common theme- God’s universal love for all of humanity; and a common message- salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions. God’s word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge: I said to him, “If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, than I challenge you to a test.” I said to the student, “I challenge you to go to any library in the world; you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions.” I went on to say, “If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God.” The student’s reply was almost instantaneous, he emphatically stated, “But that’s impossible!”

“But that’s impossible!” It truly is impossible, for any collection of human writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, with no historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.

The next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, try sharing this challenge with them. Better yet, don’t wait until you’re asked, just go ahead and share this challenge with a friend today. You don’t even have to mention the Bible up front; just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble such a collection of books. After they say, “But that’s impossible!” you’ve got a ready-made opportunity for sharing the truth of God’s word with somebody!

©2005 Christian Ministries International, Inc

 

[Big E]

Amen Homie.

 

[chronicicetea]

damn, i didnt believe i could pass the challenge but i went to the library anyways and I actually passed that shit! amen!

 

[ThaG]

another brain fart, I can't call it anything else

The Bible contains countless historical errors (every word on the first page to begin with, if you want examples) and numerous contradictions (two creation stories, again in the very beginning)..

and you're shooting yourself in the foot with this argument:

You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents

how about thousands of the brightest minds of mankind, over its whole history, using rigorous scientific methods, on all continents, reaching the same conclusion and continuing to refine the details as we're speaking?

and if you ask how much they wrote - a small fraction of it (17 MILLION papers) is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed

 

[Big E]

The Bible contains countless historical errors (every word on the first page to begin with, if you want examples) and numerous contradictions (two creation stories, again in the very beginning)..

where is the example you speak of?

 

[ThaG]

1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

is this enough? (for the historical errors)

 

[ThaG]

the second one:

002:001 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host
of them.

002:002 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he
had made.

002:003 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created
and made.

002:004 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth
and the heavens,

002:005 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and
every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had
not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man
to till the ground.

002:006 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole
face of the ground.

002:007 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became
a living soul.

002:008 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there
he put the man whom he had formed.

002:009 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.

002:010 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from
thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

002:011 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth
the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

002:012 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the
onyx stone.

002:013 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that
compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

002:014 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which
goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is
Euphrates.

002:015 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of
Eden to dress it and to keep it.

002:016 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat:

002:017 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.

002:018 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

002:019 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the
field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam
to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.

002:020 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air,
and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not
found an help meet for him.

002:021 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he
slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh
instead thereof;

002:022 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a
woman, and brought her unto the man.

002:023 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
Man.

002:024 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and
shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

002:025 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
ashamed.

and the contradicitons:

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/accounts.html

 

[Big E]

Where is the contradictions? all you did was post the scriptures, tell me how they contradict themselves.

 

[Big E]

Those scriptures that whoever quoted on that web site, DO NOT contradict themselves, one just makes a general statement about the creation of man/woman and the other explains how woman was created from man. The first scripture does not say they were created simultaneously. You need to read all of the scriptures around those to know what is actually being talked about. GIVE UP. YOU WILL NOT PROVE THE BIBLE WRONG HOMIE!!!!

 

[XxtraMannish]

YOU WILL NOT PROVE THE BIBLE WRONG HOMIE!!!!

YOU WILL NOT PROVE THE BIBLE TRUE HOMIE!!!!!

 

[ThaG]

Where is the contradictions? all you did was post the scriptures, tell me how they contradict themselves.

it is contradictory if you look at the actual text, but anyway, you will never get convinced; you did not say anything about the part where it says man was created after animals and the other one where it says the opposite


and I posted the scriptures not only to illustrate the contradiction, but to show the innumerable historical mistakes; there is actually hardly anything in the text that has any remote connection with reality:ermm:

 

[Big E]

I don't comment on it cuz it does not contradict. Neither one of those scriptures talk about specific order of creation. The bible doesn't get into that because that is not our PURPOSE. God didn't go into any science of it because it takes away from what he really wants us to do.

 

[ThaG]

I don't comment on it cuz it does not contradict. Neither one of those scriptures talk about specific order of creation. The bible doesn't get into that because that is not our PURPOSE. God didn't go into any science of it because it takes away from what he really wants us to do.

The question is why is he lying so shamelessly if this is his word???

A lying God is not worth much IMHO...

There is not a single correct thing in the whole Genesis account, how do you explain that??

 

[Big E]

The question is why is he lying so shamelessly if this is his word???

A lying God is not worth much IMHO...

There is not a single correct thing in the whole Genesis account, how do you explain that??

You pull 4 scriptures out of the bible and call god a liar? Genesis isn't correct? why, cuz it can't be proven by science?

 

[ThaG]

you are the one claiming the Bible is inerrant, I am showing you that it is total rubbish form its very beginning

And it is total rubbish not because it can not be proven, but because it has been proven wrong

 

[Big E]

by who?

 

[ThaG]

by the whole scientific community

 

[Big E]

the whole scientific community is base on theories. No one can prove the bible wrong by theorizing how existance came to be. there is no proof of evolution or how the earth came to be or anything so stop dissing the bible cuz not you or any man can prove it wrong.

 

[ThaG]

there is evidence, no theories here

 

[Big E]

Evidence of what exactly? NO MAN HAS OR WILL EVER PROVE THE BIBLE WRONG. Why would you even make a statement without showing the "evidence?" is it because you have to google for "evidence of bible being a lie?"